Tag Archives: DFO

Rivers & Oceans

B.C. shellfish growers experiencing a watershed moment


National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Quadra Island oyster farmer Steve Pocock believes B.C.’s shellfish sector is facing a watershed moment. 

West Coast growers have endured a tough couple of years as the COVID-19 pandemic dried up demand from restaurants and international markets, and extreme temperatures in June cooked countless beach-grown oysters and clams alive in their shells.   

And now growers have another sink or swim dilemma — the need to change farming practices and tackle marine debris created by the shellfish sector, said Pocock, who is also president of the BC Shellfish Growers Association (BCSGA). 

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Rivers & Oceans, Waste

Coastal communities ‘fed up’ with B.C. shellfish sector’s plastics problem

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Coastal communities are tired of paying to clean up plastic and debris from the B.C. shellfish industry to protect the marine environment, stewardship groups say.

The amount of garbage being retrieved from beaches in areas where shellfish aquaculture is concentrated grows year after year, and there’s little apparent enforcement by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to deal with the issue, said Dorrie Woodward, chair of the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards (ADIMS).

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Food fishery flounders: low returns

qathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Each year since the Tla’amin salmon hatchery was built in 1977, members of the Nation have received an allotment of food fish.

The food fish program uses salmon that pass through the hatchery, explains Tla’amin hatchery technician Scott Galligos. 

The amount of food fish Tla’amin receives is determined by Tla’amin’s final agreement treaty with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and is based on percentage, fish type, and population. 

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Indigenous Nations, Justice

Volunteer Terrace executive shares her experience with the restorative justice system

Terrace Standard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tracey Davidson never thought that her love for volunteering activities would one day see her leading a volunteering organization.

When she moved to Terrace from North Vancouver in 2011, she joined Volunteer Terrace (VT) as a volunteer community engagement coordinator.

She found herself enjoying volunteer work more and more, and it even helped her through the grieving process when her husband passed away.

Eventually she took up a paid position with the organization and was soon offered the role of interim executive director.

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